SV40-PUMA

SV40-PUMA is an adenoviral gene therapy construct designed to express the wild-type PUMA (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis) protein under the constitutive control of the SV40 promoter. Developed by researchers at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, it is primarily utilized as a non-selective control vector in preclinical studies evaluating RAS-targeted gene therapies for colorectal and pancreatic cancers. The PUMA protein, encoded by the BBC3 gene, is a pro-apoptotic BH3-only member of the Bcl-2 family that triggers apoptosis by antagonizing anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, thereby promoting mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and the release of cytochrome C. In experimental models, SV40-PUMA serves as a comparative baseline to demonstrate the selectivity and efficacy of targeted expression systems, such as those utilizing RAS-responsive elements.

Other names

adenoviral vector SV40-PUMA